Never Again
by AmyJKpd
Summary: What do you do when everyone you ever loved gets killed yet again? What do you do when guilt and revenge is everything on your mind yet again? You seek your old teacher and proceed on repeating history, of course. Canon Couples.
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

He has been roaming these dimensions for the last 3 weeks, with no sign of anything related to Kaguya. It was frustrating and a good sign at the same time. Restless, starving and almost out of chakra. That was Uchiha Sasuke's life at the moment. He left his home for 12 continuous years just for this torture. It was not regret, per say. More of a necessary evil. He would stop at nothing to protect his small family. His daughter might hate him for it sometimes, even after all the explanations he gave her on his short stay at home. It was expected. But he needed to be this Shadow Hokage they nicknamed him as. Naruto knows it too. His eyes were the only pair that could handle the mission, after all.

He had a bad feeling though… For days now, his instincts told him to stop what he was doing and just head home for a while. He was tempted too, as well. His wife's cooking might not be on par with Uzumaki Hinata's, but he loved it and missed it nonetheless. Maybe going home for a few days wasn't such a bad idea. With that thought in mind and the last of his chakra he opened up a black portal thanks to his Rinnegan eye and went through it.

"Finally, home…"

* * *

"W-what…"

This was definitely not what he expected to see when coming back to Konoha. Izumo and Kotetsu nodding at him and wishing him a good day? Maybe… Kids running around playing ninja? Definitely. People watching him go through the village? Possibly, he was still not trusted by everyone, especially by some older generations.

But this… this was worse than him finding his clan murdered one night after coming home from training, and that says a lot.

The gates were still burning, so were most of the buildings inside the village, there were corpses on the streets, although, with grim satisfaction, he could see that their numbers were relatively small. Some other buildings that he saw the last time he was here were destroyed. The Hokage tower was half standing as well. A putrid smell was surrounding him.

Dread written all over his face, he ran and ran until he got to where his new home was after Sakura destroyed their house.

The small apartment building was enough for them until their house was rebuilt, but now he realized that he might not get another chance of seeing it. In its place was nothing but rubble.

He searched all through the village, every creak of it... no sign of either pink or raven hair. Not even Naruto's wild golden spikes were seen. He was starting to lose hope by the time he got to the training grounds. But just then, his worry transformed into realization the moment he saw how the grounds looked like. He could recognize the pattern of the attacks from how the terrain was. Craters and ripped trees were clear enough signs. His wife or daughter have been here… hopefully both. The closer he got to the heart of the fight, so to speak, the more scared he got. He could hear quiet sobs coming from one of the craters. Jumping down, his heart stood still.

"S-Sakura?"

Indeed, his wife was inside the crater, back turned to him. He could see she had trouble keeping herself to a sitting position. That in itself was a clear sign that she was not well. The uchiwa on her back was cut in half as far as he could see and she was bleeding from unseen wounds underneath her red dress. It looked like the stab mark that Madara gave him all those years ago.

The sight gave him chills… Sakura was not so easily wounded normally. The Byakugō no In on her forehead made sure of that. She was also crying over something, her soft, quiet sobs were barely heard and her voice was cracking. As if her wind pipe was crushed… Her hands gave the warm emerald glow of her Shōsen Jutsu.

"Sakura! Are you okay?"

In two seconds he was behind her in order to help her sit. But the sight that welcomed him left him numb to his bones…

Sakura held Sarada's head in her lap and she was healing her. His precious daughter looked unrecognizable. Both of her eyes were cut horizontally, her abdomen was also full of wounds and senbon were sticking out of it. Sakura was trying desperately to heal her but to Sasuke it was clear… his daughter had a blue tint to her skin and she was not breathing at all. Possibly from some time now. He felt as if this was the worst Tsukuyomi any Uchiha could ever create. He wished it was the case.

He has been so happy lately. He was loved, he loved back and his family was everything to him. When Sarada was born his happiness knew no margins. He promised both Sakura and Sarada that he would protect them that night, and for a while he was true to that promise. Now he realizes that he is the worst liar ever.

Sakura falling down got him back to his senses but only slightly. He managed to catch her frail form before she hit her head on the ground. He could not mutter any word as he saw how broken she was. In all their adventures through life, from genin up until now, her spirit was the one variable that never got broken down. Now though, while looking into her eyes all he could see was pain and a hollowness not different from what he saw in the mirror when he was eight years old, after his clan's massacre. Her daughter's death broke Uchiha Sakura's spirit. And it was all his fault. If only he was there to protect them… if only he was a better father and a better husband. Maybe then things would have been different.

"I'm so sorry, Sakura…" he whispered into her ear, breaking down himself. The sound of his voice so close to her made Sakura look towards him for the first time since he found her. Through all of the pain residing in her eyes he could still see that love that made her what she was today. After all of his mistakes, he knew she could never hate him. No. Uchiha Sakura was stronger than that.

"S-Sasu-k-ke-kun…" she tried to talk more but unfortunately, at that angle and with no chakra left, she couldn't. Her lungs and heart were punctured and blood was filling her alveoli. He could tell that without being a medical ninja himself. She died soon after, her eyes full of dried tears, in the arms of her husband.

Sasuke didn't know how long he stayed there, and frankly, he didn't even care. His family was once again taken from him and, same as when he was eight, he was powerless to stop it. At least in his childhood he could not help it but now, he felt such hate surge through him for his own persona that he thought for some time that suicide is the better way to go.

He let this happen, nobody else but him was at fault. What good was it to be the second-best shinobi in the world if he can't even protect his daughter and his wife. What good was he, in the end?

For a few hours he could only bring himself to hold Sakura in his arms and stroke Sarada's soft raven locks. He could not even mourn for his family, he felt he had no right to. He was their murderer after all.

* * *

In the end he managed to bury their corpses. Before Sasuke left the village, he saw to it that nobody was inside needing help. To his amazement, Konohagakure was void of any life form, be it human or animal. He still didn't know if that was a bad thing or not. Maybe the villagers managed to get out and hide.

There were not as many corpses as one might expect from a recently attacked knew for sure that Naruto was either dead or not in this dimension since he could not feel any of his radiant chakra. He decided to go after the killers, but for that he needed information. Having been busy with all this dimension hopping he never quite knew what happened in this one. He left that to Naruto and the other Kage.

The other person that knew everything was his former teacher, the Snake Sannin himself, Orochimaru. So that is where Sasuke was headed.

After the Fourth Shinobi War, Orochimaru retreated to one of his many lairs and conducted legal experiments in order to help the Advanced Technology Research Institute and Konoha's Hospital. Kakashi, as Rokudaime, made Tenzo keep an eye on him for all these years so that he was sure Orochimaru would not go on the crazy path again. He was going to get some answers from Orochimaru for sure.

After some more hours of running, he finally reached Orochimaru's favorite lair. He knew the Sannin was here because he felt his chakra from miles away. He was greeted by Tenzo, who looked at him worriedly.

"Uchiha Sasuke… we have been expecting you… Follow me." Sasuke thought as much but decided to keep quiet. He was not in the mood to talk anyway. He had one purpose only now… Kill the bastards that did that to his home… to his family…

After walking through some complicated tunnels, they finally arrived in front of a dark metal door. Tenzo knocked twice and opened it. They both entered the room and Sasuke was quite surprised to see not only Orochimaru there, but Karin, Jūgo and oddly enough Uzumaki Boruto and Mitsuki as well.

They were also shocked to see him there, and Boruto all but rammed into him, crying silently. He wished he could comfort the kid but he felt nothing but hate and guilt at the moment.

"S-Sasuke no occhan… D-dad i-is…h-he is DEAD!" Sasuke already expected that, but it did not mean it hurt less. The guilt grew even stronger and so did the hate. Still, to anyone else he might look emotionless and uncaring.

Everything was silent for a while, with Boruto still clinging to Sasuke's black cloak, trying to get some much-needed comfort. Mitsuki tried to be there for Boruto, but he didn't manage so well. He saw the attack coming and somehow helped Boruto escape the village and bring him here. The Kara didn't know about Orochimaru's lairs. Mitsuki promised Nanadaime that he would protect his son, after all. It was a mission.

In the end it was Karin that broke the ice, but her question made everything worse for Sasuke.

"Sasuke…where are Sakura and Sarada-chan?" Everyone turned to look at her, except Sasuke who was numb to everything around him. Boruto gasped and Mitsuki's eyes widened considerably. Orochimaru most likely guessed what happened. He knew Sasuke as well as Naruto, Sakura and Kakashi did. Jūgo was silent, thinking that something bad must have happened, or else Sasuke would not have been here in the first place.

"Dead."

It was as if a bomb was dropped. Sasuke said it so nonchalantly that they all probbly thought he didn't care. Uchiha Sasuke was known for not expressing his emotions properly .

"I will find them… and I will kill every single one of them. If I die in battle then so be it. I have nothing else to live for."

"That is quite the awful plan, Sasuke-kun… The Hokage did not manage to defeat them not only because they all took him by surprise. They are quite strong. His little wife tried to defend him but got herself into a coma in the end. My son here saved his son, but could do nothing for his sister, Himawari, was it?" At this, Boruto nodded, tears still falling down his cheeks. He could not believe Sarada was dead as well. He came to care for the girl very much. She was his childhood friend, his rival. And now he would not see her again. Why was this happening?!

"…" Sasuke was silent. He did not care what they thought of his plan. It was his fault. He would solve it in his own way.

"Stop thinking everything is your fault, Sasuke-kun. " Orochimaru continued. "Your mission was to go through Kaguya's dimensions. You had no way of knowing this will happen. Alas, let me continue with what I have gathered so far. The name of the organization is Kara. Their purpose is to get the world rid of peace, for they believe it is a fake peace. I have no other information on them, simply because they have never appeared until now. Unlike Akatsuki…"

They all listened closely to his words. 'Kara…' Sasuke thought angrily. He will kill them all.

Karin watched Sasuke's expression throughout all of Orochimaru's explanation. He seemed calm and collected at first sight, but Karin knows Sasuke better than that. His was the calm before the storm. His eyes held all emotion. He was angry, he was sad, oh so sad… but most of all she could see his hate. It reminded her of the day he created Taka. The day he found out the truth about his brother. His chakra was even colder now. The love he felt for his family was now the hate he feels towards himself. Karin only hoped he would realize Sakura did not wish this for him.

Orochimaru took a break after all the explanation so he could see his reaction.

"Do you know where they are or not? I don't have time to waste, Orochimaru…" Everyone was surprised at Sasuke's cold voice. Everyone but Karin, who expected it. Orochimaru did not like this. Yes, he might have fed on that hate when Sasuke was just a child, but the man Orochimaru became now is far different from what he was.

"Instead of going on a suicidal mission, why not redo everything and save everyone?" When Sasuke heard what Orochimaru said, he thought the Sannin went senile with age. He didn't make any sense.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU SAYING?" Sasuke could not hold it back anymore. He yelled with all his might. He did not have time for cruel jokes.

Orochimaru knew it was only the rage and hurt talking so he didn't take it personally. He never did.

"Listen to me carefully because this is not only important to you, but it is also an S-Rank secret. Only me, Nanadaime and Katasuke-san knew. Naruto and Katasuke came to me about five years ago to ask for the creation of a new jutsu. A type of Hiraishin but improved. I accepted. For the last five years I have been working on it. I had Namikaze Minato's notes on his jutsu and I came up with the idea of using Jūgo's Cursed Seal. The idea was good. The Cursed Seal, ironically, would technically improve the jutsu, not only so we could use it with no real fūinjutsu, but it could also boost the user's chakra so that they could teleport long distances, depending on how much chakra you do have and depending on the Cursed Seal as well. Anyway, point is, we tried to balance all that. But… so far I could not tinker with both time and space." Sasuke listened carefully. There was something underneath what Orochimaru is saying that he could use. Orochimaru hinted at time and space being tinkered with….

"You can only incorporate either time or space but not both… am I correct?"

"Precisely, Sasuke-kun. Time, to be exact. The jutsu is only finished, if even so much. But in this case, we have no time to complete it. Tell me, how much do you want to save your friends? Your wife? Your precious daughter?"

Orochimaru looked Sasuke in the eye and he did not even need a verbal answer, but Sasuke gave him one anyway.

"You have no idea how much." And he was serious. Sasuke would stop at nothing to help his family, Naruto and Kakashi included. He still didn't understand what Orochimaru was fully hinting at though. "So…what were you thinking, Orochimaru?"

"I am thinking of sending you to the past."

"Are you making fun of me?" Now Sasuke was not one to take what his former teacher says as a joke but the idea of going back to the past is idiotic and more like science-fiction than anything else. Never in the history of Shinobi ever existed such a jutsu.

"Well, I wasn't clear in my speech. I apologize for that. No, I am not joking. I want to send you, well, your memories as well as your spiritual energy to a past where you had your Cursed Seal. The chakra from Jūgo's Cursed Seal will connect to your own Cursed Seal. Basically, you are the only one present here that can do it." The idea was preposterous but it gave Sasuke something he didn't have before… hope.

If he managed this he could save everyone, and he will be damned before he ever made the same mistakes. But it was Karin that brought him back from his thoughts. While talking to Orochimaru he forgot there were other people there. Everyone was curious and hopeful as well.

"So, Sasuke's memories and spiritual chakra goes back. But then, he will still be quite weak, wouldn't he? His full chakra will not be there and nor will his eyes. Sorry for saying this, Sasuke, but you do need them after all." Karin was right in this. His memories will be good and all that, but he relied a lot on his current eyes. And he was not killing Itachi again just for the chance of getting back his Mangekyou Sharingan.

"You are right and wrong at the same time, Karin." answered Orochimaru. "When sending back both his memories and spiritual chakra, he will remember everything he ever learned and his body will have half the part needed to mold his chakra. Meaning, he will indeed be weak at the beginning and his present chakra will be inexistent but that is only until he builds up his physical energy. Slowly but surely, his Mangekyou and his Rinnegan will resurface again as if they have never been lost. I call this phenomenon 'chakra memory'. His chakra already knows what it has to do, but it needs to be potent enough to get everything in this stage yet again. So, Sasuke, I suggest training hard after you get back, if you decided you wanted to return, of course." He spoke the last sentence to the Uchiha, as if daring him to say no. How could he say no, though? He had a chance. And he will take it.

"Fine. I have decided."

* * *

Sasuke didn't need much time to decide. It was obvious. He wanted to save the people he loved and he wanted to fix his mistakes. If Orochimaru said he might be able to do it, he will take that over anything. Revenge be damned, he went that path once and it brought him more pain, just as Sakura said more than 20 years ago.

Just thinking of her brought another stab of pain in his chest. Her smile was replaced by her lifeless gaze and he did not want to remember anymore.

Coming out of his thoughts he realized everyone was staring at him. Boruto's tears have dried by now and he was determined. Sasuke was sure he did not even realize that him going back to the past might mean the little brat will not be born. He was not even sure Sarada would be born yet again. Not because him and Sakura would not get married, that was out of the question. But because this time, things will be different… No time to think of this, he had no choice.

"Well, that explains it." Karin said.

"Which period of time do you want me to send you back to? You had that Cursed Seal for three years." Orochimaru already knew the answer. Sasuke would have taken back the act of leaving Konoha if he could. It was only natural what his choice would be. "When I first got the mark from you. Better to start earlier." Sasuke wanted to be there this time. No more leaving Konoha. He would save Itachi as well, even if that meant dragging the Fifth Hokage back in Konoha himself.

"I thought as much. Be careful, though. I am not the same in your… future time. But alas, you will be strong enough to fight me by then. Firstly, I will need to draw the seals on the ground. That might take a while so say your goodbyes meanwhile. After that, we will proceed. We need a high amount of chakra for this so do try to meditate a bit as well, Sasuke-kun. I can feel you are almost null in that aspect. Karin will help you. Jūgo, I will also need the majority of your chakra when we are ready." With that said, the Snake Sannin left the room along with Jūgo , leaving Sasuke alone with Karin, Boruto, Tenzo and Mitsuki. The wood user was as silent as a grave throughout the whole ordeal. He was sad like the rest of them, but he knew that crying over it won't help.

"Sasuke-san, I am aware we don't know eachother that well, but what I do know is that you will do everything in your power to save your comrades. That I am thankful for. I wish you the best of luck and let's hope we meet again in this new future." With these last words of encouragement, Tenzo left the room to go after Orochimaru, presumably. Sasuke hopes to meet him again as well. If the jutsu works…

"Stop overthinking, Sasuke!" Karin yelled at him. Being an Uzumaki herself, her voice ought to be loud. Sasuke concluded she meant nothing by it. "Listen… I know that I have been an annoying fangirl most of the time but… In the past-future, do seek me. Sakura was my friend and I loved Sarada-chan a lot too." Sasuke could see tears in her eyes. He didn't know how his wife and this woman became friends, but they did and he could feel it was genuine. "I want to help you guys from the beginning. I am also taking those exams in your time. Don't forget that. Be safe and good luck. I know you can do it." And, with a pat on the shoulder and a confident grin that reminded him so much of his best friend, she left as well, mentioning that she will see him when it was time. Sasuke knew that she needed to mourn for her loved ones as well. He wished he could do the same. But it was not the time.

Deciding to talk to his student, he turned towards the two-remaining shinobi.

"Boruto." Said blonde knucklehead came closer to him. Sasuke could admit that it pained him to see Boruto. Naruto and himself did everything in their power to try and stop anything like this happening, so that the future generations could live happy, unlike them. And yet, they failed. And this was the proof. But he will do it again, better this time. Looking at Boruto was like looking at genin Naruto, and he reckoned he will see that again soon enough.

"I will save them. I promise." He didn't have to say much for Boruto to understand. "Mitsuki, take care of Boruto in the future as well." Mitsuki knew he meant the past future, he was smart enough for that.

All that being said, Sasuke decided to take some time to meditate. Just not think of anything. It hurt. But that hurt only made him stronger for now. He will succeed.

* * *

After a few hours, it was Karin that came back to tell him the sealing matrix is ready. Sasuke was nervous, as his chakra was not yet replenished. He was only halfway there, but he hoped it would be enough.

"Don't be an idiot again. I am here to help, remember what Orochimaru-sama said?" she said, extending her arm to him. "Bite me and let's get this over with. You need it." He looked at her arm for a while and then did as was told. He indeed needed her help. No sound was heard this time. Sasuke took as much chakra as he could, leaving Karin light headed and almost drained.

"I'm sorry, Karin. I took too much." He was indeed feeling sorry. Because she could barely stand. Karin thought nothing of it though. She was glad to help. "Make it count!" she said.

"Hn. I will."

He helped her up and both went to the appointed room. In there they could see a huge seal on the floor, Orochimaru standing in front of it. It resembled the Hiraishin but he could see some differences. Everyone was there, waiting impatiently.

"We need to begin. Sasuke-kun, stay in the center of the seal. Jūgo, stay behind him, outside of the seal, please. Both of you start molding your chakra. Then all of us will need to do the hand seals of Ox, Dragon, Hare, Ram, Bird, Boar. Sasuke-kun, think of the time I gave you the Cursed Seal. It is the only way of transferring your memories there. It might sound silly, but it is the truth. I tried this with myself in the past. Not for long periods of time though. "

Sasuke and Jūgo did as told, both of them nervous. They all proceeded with molding their chakra and doing the hand seal sequences. Jūgo activated his Cursed Seal as instructed by Orochimaru before. All the chakra in the room made it windy and electrical at the same time. Everyone was wide eyed, wondering if this will work or not. Hoping, wishing that it will.

Sasuke could only think of that time that Sakura kept him close and cried for him in the Forest of Death. Of how her warm body was the last thing he felt before he lost consciousness, both in the past and in the present. The last thought that went through his mind was...

"Never again."


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

The Sharingan wielder found himself in a somewhat bright space, with no beginning and no ending. He slightly remembers it but could not pinpoint the exact memory. Looking at himself he could see that he was still 32 years old, still wearing his adult clothes.

'Did the jutsu not work?' he thought. Panic clawed at his heart. 'N-no…that can't be…'

"Hn. So weak."

Sasuke turned around only to come face to face with a small child, with half his face covered in flame-like marks and one golden eye with black sclera. The child was smirking in a way that made him look less like a kid and more like a madman. He was looking at his eight-year-old self. Kind of.

"You couldn't save your clan, and now you failed to even protect your so-called family. You are weak no matter what you do." The little Sasuke continued his mocking, smirk in place. The adult in himself knew that this was the malevolent chakra in the Cursed Seal of Heaven speaking, but the words cut through him nonetheless. The child was right, of course. He was too weak to see what path to take since the beginning. But that is why he was here now, to change all that. To become strong enough.

"Yes, you are right." Sasuke unknowingly activated his Rinne-Sharingan. "I am weak. And I was all this time. Naruto proved it to me once and now I finally get a chance to make it right. Do you think you can stop me, kid?" he completed, dōjutsu spinning. He was not stupid. He knew that he needed willpower to defeat this curse. Kakashi told him that a long time ago, after the preliminaries.

"You will fail yet again. After all, you are Uchiha Sasuke. The taitor, the deserter." This kid got onto his nerves. He kept calling him names that did not describe him anymore. Time to end this.

"I will not fail. And if I ever do, I will go back until I get it right. Because I am not a traitor anymore, nor a deserter. I am Uchiha Sasuke of Konohagakure, the Shadow Hokage." With that said, Sasuke released the genjutsu Orochimaru put underneath the Curse. That man may be a snake bastard but he was indeed smart and cunning.

* * *

Sounds of fighting and grunting woke him up. He could barely open his eyes. Exhausted. That is what he was. He felt drained. Turning his head to the right he saw his orange clad best friend.

'Naruto…' So, he made it. As much as Naruto never gave up on his orange obsession, the clothes he wore as a Hokage were more of a darker shade of it. This color he saw now hurt his eyes. He was glad to see him. Safe and sound. Speaking of sound…

"DAMN IT! LET GO!"

Sasuke couldn't recognize that voice. He could hear kicking and punching, and teeth grinding. Some sniffs and grunts. Then something being thrown. Or someone…

"YOU BRAT!" the same voice as before. What was happening? He craned his neck the other way so he could take a proper look. His movements were slow and jerky. He was too used to his old body and now getting into his smaller one posed as a problem. Not a permanent one but if he needed to fight right now he would be useless.

What Sasuke saw made his eyes widen. Sakura. Bloodied and bruised. Thrown away a few feet away from him, kunai in hand. He remembered bits and pieces from before, now. How mad he had been when seeing Sakura like this. How he broke that asshole's arms for daring to touch her. He felt the same now. He wanted to kill the bastard. But then a memory broke through. Of Sakura hugging him from behind, begging him to stop. That he wasn't the Sasuke she knew. He didn't want her to be scared of him anymore. The anger was still there though, and thanks to the Cursed Seal he managed to raise up and get to her. He promised he will protect her, after all.

His walk was still weird and jerky but the speed boost was welcomed. In less that two seconds he was standing behind her.

"Sakura…" He was met with her widening eyes and a cheery "Sasuke-kun!". She was relieved to see him up. But that relief was short lived as she realized he was not exactly walking properly. 'Was that weird tattoo affecting his movements? And why are black flames all over his body? What did that asshole do to him?!'.

The bastard that hurt her was from Otogakure. He remembered now. Orochimaru sent a team to hunt him down and kill him. He forgot the guy's name but it seemed he was planning an attack. He stretched his arms forward with a sick grin. Sasuke wasted no time. He grabbed Sakura and ran as fast as he could towards Naruto. Speed was always his forte but because of the so called 'mind transferring' he was as fast as his genin self, which was not much. Thanks to the chakra boost he arrived just in time. The supersonic blasts almost hit them but thankfully they got away.

He needed to fight them alone. Sakura and Naruto could not help him now. He turned towards his pink-haired teammate. "Listen, Sakura. I need you to stay here near Naruto. I will take care of this as quickly as possible. Don't interfere." He had to add the last part. She always got herself in trouble while getting in between his fights.

Before she had a chance to respond he was already onto his opponent. He did not see how Ino, Shikamaru and Chouji put themselves in front of his teammates as a way of protection.

* * *

Uchiha Sasuke was known for his speed, grace and overall ocular power throughout the Elemental Nations. His only match in strength was the Nanadaime Hokage, Uzumaki Naruto. What Sasuke thought of himself now was that even academy kids could defeat him. His taijutsu was sloppy at least, his Sharingan only had two tomoe each and he had a very hard time in maintaining his balance thanks to his new (old actually) left arm. He promised himself that he would thank Orochimaru for this Curse Seal before beating the crap out of him and hopefully getting him on Konoha's side yet again. Wishful thinking at this moment.

He could only block and sometimes kick the Oto-nin. He reckoned he wouldn't have lasted long without the chakra boost, but even so he was currently no real match for this guy. He remembered he defeated him the last time but with all these drawbacks he could barely keep up.

Out of the corner of his eyes he saw Rock Lee's defeated body as well. 'So even Lee got his ass kicked.'

Sasuke was lucky the other two Sound shinobi decided to stand back. Even so…

"Zaku, finish this up. We have other things to do." One of his comrades, the mummy looking guy said. Sasuke could see that this Zaku was preparing for another attack. Then, an idea popped into his mind, making him smirk.

* * *

Sakura could not believe her eyes. In front of her stood her best friend…no, rival.

"I-Ino? What are you doing?" she asked. Sakura felt tears gathering in her eyes. She always cared for Ino. As much as they fought and yelled at eachother, she still loved her as a best-friend. That is why, when she found out that Ino also liked Sasuke, she was hurt. Not because she was jealous, after all, if Sasuke were to choose Ino in the end, she really would not be surprised. Her blonde friend was every boy's dream. But Sakura wanted Ino to be honest with her. She didn't want her pity.

"You didn't think I will let you get all of Sasuke-kun's attention, did you?" said Ino. "Troublesome woman." Shikamaru was not pleased with what was happening but he agreed with Ino. Even if this was the Chūnin Exam, leaving other Konoha shinobi to be beaten up for no reason while you could do something about it was not something they could just agree with. Chōji, on the other hand, was scared shitless. That was until the Sound kunoichi decided to call him fat, of course.

"I AM BIG BONED!" yelled Chōji. "Nikudan Sensha!" The next thing all of them saw was Chōji's form transforming into a rotating ball and moving at high speed towards the Sound ninjas. The mummy looking guy managed to save himself, but the girl was not so lucky. She got knocked out by the force of the rotation. Unfortunately for Chōji, at that speed and hitting a tree after didn't help so he passed out as well. He made his point, though.

"Heh, way to go, Chōji!" cheered Ino. She was scared yes. Except the girl, the other two shinobi were dangerous and much older than them. Sasuke-kun already had a hard time with one of them and he was the strongest from the batch. But she can't lose. Sakura depended on her.

"Let's show him, Shikamaru!" Turning towards her target, hands positioned into the Yamanaka Clan signature jutsu, she was about to possess him but a large explosion knocked her into Sakura.

* * *

At the same time that Zaku launches his Zankūkyohuka, Sasuke releases his Gōryūka no Jutsu. The Uchiha knew all about elements and which ones compliment the others. Needless to say that his fire dragon, overpowered thanks to all the wind chakra it met, led to a huge explosion. Unfortunately for Zaku, he didn't have the time to dodge and was caught up in it. Sasuke, planning all this, was smart enough to also grab Shikamaru and cover themselves inside the hollow Sakura and Naruto were standing in, alongside Ino. The raven-haired shinobi had no time to waste after, though. He needed that scroll.

The other sound ninja was also caught up in the blast, but not as much. Unfortunately, if he wanted Orochimaru-sama not to kill him, he had to retreat. He had the worst of luck though, because Sasuke was unto him, kunai at his throat.

"Give me your scroll and you are free to go." Sharingan activated, Cursed Seal flames over his skin, Sasuke looked intimidating even to the older Oto-nin. He knew he stood no chance. He was but one and excluding the Uchiha in front of him, there were two other functional ones in that hollow and two others watching them from the trees, from what he could sense.

"T-Take it." He handed over his Earth Scroll fearfully. After gathering his badly burnt teammate and the knocked out kunoichi, he left the meadow as fast as he could.

* * *

Sasuke could not believe he made it through it. His limbs were still trembling and he felt his knees grow weak. He felt weak actually. But he won't complain. They got out of it fine enough. He slowly walked back to his team and what remained of Team 10.

His only concern now was Sakura. She looked beaten up, tired and her hair was uneven. But to him, she looked beautiful. Truthfully, Sasuke felt like the worst pedophile right now, but he could not help it. He won't date Sakura properly until they would be at least 16 years old, but looking at her now, he could not see a child. He could only see his wife. He felt no sexual attraction to a 12-year-old, obviously, but his feelings for her did not change. He kept staring at her face, trying to memorize every single detail. From her emerald green orbs to her blushed cheeks and pouty mouth.

He never realized that every single person there, except Naruto, Lee and Chōji for obvious reasons were staring back at him, seeing his Curse Mark receeding. Before any of them could speak, two other shinobi jumped down from the trees to join them.

Sasuke recognized Hyūga Neji. He forgot how stuck up he looked, to be honest, but he had the pearly eyes of his clan. From what Naruto told him, Neji died protecting his cousin, Hyūga Hinata and by extension, Naruto himself, from Jūbi's spikes. He did not see that man now, while watching the boy in front of him, but maybe, one day he will. He could not be such a hypocrite to judge, after all. He nodded to the both of them. Tenten was the one to speak up.

"Well, we are just here to collect the package. No harm intended." She spoke with her arms up as a sign of peace. They watched her haul up Rock Lee's body as if it was a sack of potatoes and then they were gone.

He decided to sit down next for a while. Fighting exhausted him even more. Sakura was scared to speak, not knowing if Sasuke wanted them to talk about 'it' with Team 10 present or not. So, she waited, checking him for any other injuries. Sasuke-kun seemed fine enough, except for his obvious imbalance and jerky muscle flexing. Although his personality was another thing. He seemed changed, somehow. More…mature, maybe? She didn't know. It was Ino that brought her back from her thoughts.

"Hey, Forehead! Let's get that hair of yours even. It brings out your forehead even more this way. I, for one, don't mind. It makes Sasuke-kun realize I am prettier, but I feel generous today." She said. Sakura knew that Ino didn't mean it, but she still felt like glaring at her. 'That Pig!'.

"Fine, Ino-pig! But don't get your hopes up." Both girls went a bit farther away, the hollow had too much shadow. Sasuke heard Ino, but he didn't feel the need to reply to that. As pretty as Ino was, to him it didn't matter. He just looked at them go away before glancing at Shikamaru. He wanted to thank him for standing in front of his team but... He was fast asleep next to him. Sasuke sweat dropped and shook his head. How someone could fall asleep like like that was a mystery to him. Some things never change. Although the Shikamaru from his time was more alert and less uninterested, Naruto still found him sleeping on some rooftop from time to time.

"Miso Ramen…Yes, Teuchi-san, make that 12 bowls…no…13…hmmmm…" shaking his head and murmuring an "Usuratonkachi" just for old times' sake, Sasuke kicked Naruto's shin and watched as his blonde friend jumped up, kunai in hand, looking for some imaginary enemy.

"Where is it-ttebayo?"

"Naruto, shut up." He answered, smirking. He felt…happy. Even after all the fighting and exhaustion, he felt happy. Even if Sakura was hurt, he knew she would recover and that she will be fine. Naruto's stupidity only made things better. He felt himself chuckling. He truly came back.

Sasuke never saw how Naruto's eyes widened to an unimaginable size just from hearing him chuckle. If he did, he probably would have laughed out loud at the sight.

* * *

"So, Sakura. What will you do now? Your precious hair is short. Sasuke-kun won't like you anymore, hehe." Ino was just trying to annoy Sakura, of course. She had no real evidence that Sasuke liked girls with long hair.

"Listen, Ino… I wanted to say that… I am sorry. I didn't mean to break our friendship like that. More like, I was so mad at you! I have no problems with you liking Sasuke-kun. I have a problem with you not trusting me enough to tell me and be honest, Shannarō!"

Ino did not expect that at all. Yes, she lied to Sakura. Because she didn't want to hurt her. But she never thought that Sakura broke their friendship over that. It made sense in a way.

"Sakura…" her pink haired friend looked at her with confident bright eyes. She knew Sakura was right, and she also knew that being honest would be the best in this case. "Heh. Well then, yes. I like Sasuke-kun, Sakura. But… well. I am pretty sure he does not feel the same for me. That doesn't mean I will give up, Forehead!"

Sakura gave her a charming smile, as charming as she could with swollen cheeks. They both laughed it away and rekindled their friendship over Ino working with pink locks. She thought Sakura looks prettier with shorter hair, anyway.

* * *

Naruto was damn right confused. The last thing he remembers was an ugly ass bitch lifting his shirt up and touching his belly. And now he finds out he is in a meadow along with a sleeping Shikamaru, laughing Ino and Sakura (why was his Sakura-chan's hair short and why was her face swollen?), knocked up Chōji and a weird Sasuke. Nothing made sense.

"Teme, what the fuck happened?" Uzumaki Naruto wanted answers right now.

"Naruto, listen. I will explain everything once we get on the road. I promise. Now, come on. We need to leave. I managed to get back a scroll with Team 10's help but we still need another one." Sasuke did not want to talk about things with Team 10 here. As much as he trusted Shikamaru in the future, he only wants his team to know about the Cursed Seal.

Naruto was speechless yet again. Did Teme just say he will explain things… to HIM? The world is ending. He was sure now!

* * *

Ino finished Sakura's hair just in time for Sasuke to appear at their side, Naruto in tow.

"Sakura, we need to go. We still have a scroll to steal." Said the Uchiha. Ino noticed the way he was looking at her friend. With soft eyes. And an emotion Ino doesn't know yet. 'Ah, I was right. I lost.' She thought sadly.

She watched as Team 7 gathered itself and, with a bright smile, waved at Sakura's retreating back.

* * *

Sakura, Naruto and Sasuke realized they had almost three days until the Second Task is over. At Sasuke's suggestion they stopped near the river that goes through the middle of the forest. The Uchiha remembered this place from the last time. They also needed more water, something to eat and for Sakura's bandages to be changed and washed. He asked her to let him do it. He had more experience with them, ironically enough. The thought made him smirk. In the future, it was his wife that took care of him like this. Now the roles were reversed.

"What is so funny, Sasuke-teme? I swear, you went crazy!" Naruto still found this new Sasuke weird. He was glad that they fought less and that Sasuke seemed less of an asshole. But the change was too fast for Naruto.

"Hn. Nothing, dobe." Sasuke bit back. It was not said as an insult. More like one of their ways of bonding. Sasuke went back to changing Sakura's bandages. He noted that she was blushing but thought nothing of it. He knew she wasn't used to him even giving her the time of the day.

Sakura didn't know what to think of him. Since that Orochimaru bit him, Sasuke-kun was acting weird. It was not even weird in a bad way. He was indeed the same, but at the same time so different. Like how gentle he was right now. He never touched her from his own accord before. Yes, he always protected her and yes, he grabbed her hand while he was in pain but other than that, they never had any touchy-feely experiences. Now she was blushing from head to toe because of it.

After Sasuke finished he decided to tell Naruto everything that happened from when he passed out, with Sakura's help. He didn't remember anything as clearly, seeing it happened twenty years ago.

"Naruto, leave the fish to cook and come here. We need to talk." Naruto, still weirded out, sat down next to his teammates and for once, he was silent. "After you passed out, I took your place in fighting that guy."

"Wait…it was a GUY?" Naruto was pretty sure he fought a woman. Ugly as sin, but a woman.

"Yes, Naruto, shut up and listen. That guy was Orochimaru. From what I remember, he was one of the Legendary Sannin. You probably don't know any of that since you barely studied, but the Sannin are very powerful ninjas." said Sakura. Naruto indeed had no idea who the Legendary Sannin were, but now that Sakura explained it…

"So, wait…why is a Legendary Ninja in a Chūnin Exam?" For once, Sasuke and Sakura were both speechless. Sasuke knew of Naruto's moments of genius, but Sakura was not yet privy to it.

"That is the thing. We don't know." He explained. It was a small lie, seeing as he does know. But the whole mind transferring-time traveling thing would not be explained yet. Maybe after they all get stronger in order to protect the information. And that was still a big maybe. "Anyway, we fought. More like, he played with me for a bit. And then, after he got enough, he bit me on the neck and left, saying that I will seek him out." The raven-haired boy finished explaining, showing Naruto the shoulder tattoo he got.

Both Sakura and Naruto were worried, he could see that. But he will not seek Orochimaru out anymore. He had no reason to. He has his family here, and he will search for Itachi as soon as these exams were finished. He wanted to save his brother too.

"I will not seek him out. This Cursed Seal only made me weaker. If it wasn't for Team 10, I would have lost that battle." He knew that was the truth this time. Last time was fine and all but now he was almost useless. Sasuke was sure his team was more shocked by the fact that he admitted that than the fact that he almost lost. He couldn't blame them.

"S-Sasuke-kun… you are not weak. I hope you do know that. Me, on the other hand…"

Sakura was depressed. She was next to useless in that fight. "Sakura, you weren't useless. You protected us. You just didn't find out what you are good at yet. And Kakashi was too busy worrying over me and Naruto fighting each other. But we will help you improve." Sasuke already promised himself that he will help them both.

"Sasuke-teme is right, Sakura-chan. I might not know what happened to get you into that state, but I can see that you did your best. And for me that is enough." said Naruto.

Sakura had tears in her eyes by the time they finished. But she promised herself she won't be that useless ever again. "Hai!" She will become a true kunoichi.

"Why don't you try Medical Ninjutsu?" suggested Sasuke. He didn't want to force her to be the same Sakura as his future wife but… he knew for sure that his Sakura loved helping people, healing people. And this Sakura did too. "You have perfect chakra control. Out of everyone in our year, you are the best at that." Naruto was nodding as well. He might not know everything they were talking about, but it seemed to make Sakura-chan feel better, so that was a good thing.

Sakura blushed but truly thought of it. Sasuke planted the seed into her mind, now he will let it sit and see what she decides.

* * *

After their discussion, everything became silent yet again. Until Sasuke suddenly threw a shuriken towards the trees. His team caught his signal and went into defense positions. They were not ready to fight but if they had to, they will.

"Ahh, gomen. I did not mean to startle you. I come in peace." Out of the bushes came a young man of around 20 years old, with grey hair and glasses, wearing a Konoha Hitai-ate. 'Kabuto.' Sasuke recognized him. The last time he went through the exams he accepted his help. Now he does not want to. He knows that Kabuto would only go and report to Orochimaru after.

"Leave." He said coldly.

"W-wait. I only want to help!" Kabuto cursed inside his head. 'Damn him. I need to get close to them and see what they planned.' Orochimaru-sama will not be pleased if he did not have anything to report.

"Unless you have a Heaven's Scroll that you could pass to us, we don't need your help. I will not repeat myself again. Leave!" Sasuke knew Kabuto did not have orders to harm them. Sharingan spinning wildly just for precaution, he threathened him. Pain from his shoulder coursed through his body, but he stood still. He need not show weakness to the likes of him. He was mentally stronger than that.

Kabuto did not expect this, and apparently neither did the Uchiha's teammates. They all looked at Sasuke weirdly. Naruto knew Kabuto from the beginning of the exams, and he seemed like a nice guy. So, what was Sasuke's problem? He decided to shut up for now, though. He did not know how to act towards this new Sasuke. Sakura was worried. She knows that when Sasuke is on edge, things get serious. She hopes a fight won't break up. She would not be of any help in her state.

Sasuke glared even harder at him. He could not hold on his pain for much longer before the Curse starts spreading. He just hopes the man will leave already. Kabuto mad his decision then. He only had orders to watch over them but if they did not want his help, so be it. Orochimaru will have to think of another way of getting information.

"Fine. I was just try-" "Just leave already or I will attack you, make no mistake!" Sasuke's last words startled Kabuto into action so he leaped away to the trees, leaving Team 7 alone again. Sasuke deactivated his Sharingan, finally getting rid of most of the pain. He couldn't wait for Kakashi to seal this menace away. Stumbling on the ground, he took a few breaths to calm himself.

"Sasuke-kun! Are you okay? What happened?" Sakura knew now that something was up. Sasuke was out of breath and even with all the fighting he did, it was not something that usually happened. "It is that mark again, is it not? Tell us!"

Heh. Nothing got over Sakura. Nodding to her, he began his explanation yet again.

"Yes. The seal hurts when I access my own chakra. It tries to take over but I have it under control. The only drawback is that it hurts like hell." Sakura and Naruto did not know what to say to that. Sasuke fought those guys while being in pain? Now it made sense why his movements were so unbalanced.

"Sasuke-teme. From now on, leave the fighting to me. I had enough time to rest. It is your turn." Naruto was grateful to Sasuke for protecting him, but Hell will freeze over before he ever admits that. "Also, if you knew you are not in the best of shapes, why not agree to Kabuto-san's help?! He seemed like a nice guy." Sasuke smirked.

"I just don't trust someone that took this exam 7 times already… doesn't it seem weird to you? It's like he likes all the fighting and death all around. I don't want him to help us. He probably waited for a moment to strike. He knows almost everything about us, remember?" Sasuke did not forget about all the ninja cards Kabuto has inside his pockets. He found that weird the first time around, never mind this time.

"Let's go now. It's getting late and I want to be inside that tower by tonight." Feeling better now, he gathered their backpacks and handed them to his team. Without looking back, they all headed towards the tower in the middle of the Forest of Death.

* * *

The sun was beginning to set and they seemed to going in circles. Something was bothering Sasuke. He knew something was up.

Eyes widening, he activated his incomplete Sharingan and cursed. 'Of course, I forgot all about those Kirigakure bastards.' "Kai!" He released the genjutsu and turned towards their enemy. Sakura kept closer to him in case he needed support, while Naruto was confidently getting in front of them.

"Sasuke…I told you I will fight this time. Let me handle it." Fists clenching, Naruto waited for his response. 'Tsk. Idiot.'

"Naruto, I am not the Team Leader, you know. Out of all of us, it should probably be Sakura. Her being the smartest and all that. Hn. Go wild, though. Sakura and I can't do much now." Sasuke smirked. 'Let the dobe have his moment. He deserves it.'

As far as Sasuke remembers, this fight went the same as before. With Naruto overwhelming those guys with his Tajū Kage Bunshin, him and Sakura watching from the sidelines. Unlike last time, though, Sasuke felt no need to be jealous of his best friend. He felt almost proud. 'How times have changed.'

Naruto returned to them with the Heaven's Scroll in hand, grinning happily. Only he could grin like that after a fight.

"Good job, Naruto!" cheered Sakura. She felt happy for her boys finally getting along. 'My boys…I like the sound of that. They are my teammates and I am proud of them. Naruto…Sasuke-kun. Wait a bit longer. I will catch up to you! Shannarō!'.

"Hn." Leave it to Sasuke to end the discussion with his monosyllabic words.

They all went on their merry way towards the real tower, this time.

* * *

After entering the Tower, Team 7 noticed the big blackboard on the wall. They all began reading what was written there.

"Without Heaven…What the hell does that even mean?!" Naruto wondered out loud, hands on his head in despair.

"I think they want us to open the scrolls, both at the same time?" concluded Sakura after reading everything. "Should we?" she asked.

Sasuke looked towards her and nodded. They both took one scroll and in one motion, ripped their seals. "Drop it, Sakura!" he yelled. The raven-haired ninja remembered that Iruka is supposed to be summoned here after opening the scrolls. Instead, he was surprised to see…

"Kakashi-sensei!" both his teammates yelled in surprise and happiness. Sasuke was shocked. It seems things are already changing.

"Yo!" Kakashi eye-smiled at them. He was proud of his little ninjas for coming so far. As rookies went, most don't even pass the first round. "Congratulations, team. You passed the second round of the Chūnin Exams! And earlier too. You have tonight and tomorrow to rest here until everyone else arrives."

Sasuke smirked at the praise. So, Kabuto indeed brought them down last time. Damn that asshole. Sakura was happy to hear that she could rest. Naruto on the other hand asked the million-dollar question.

"Yatta! Is there any ramen here?!" Everyone sweat-dropped at his ramen obsession.

Sasuke decided to tell Kakashi about his problem too. It was better on the long run.

"Kakashi…I need to tell you about something. In the Forest, we got attacked by Orochimaru of the Sannin. He gave me some kind of mark that won't let me use my chakra without immense pain going through my body. Any idea what I should do with it?"

To say Kakashi was shocked would be an understatement. Not only did Orochimaru give his student the Cursed Seal of Heaven, but said student came to tell what happened by himself. Sasuke was not the type to ask for help, so hearing him doing exactly that took him by surprise. He kept staring at the Uchiha for a while.

Sasuke grew impatient after some time. He knew he was an asshole when he was 12 but still! It was not that surprising, was it? "Kakashi…"

"Ahh yes. Sorry. Well, I could seal it with the Fūja Hōin, but it could break out in the end depending on your willpower and it takes a while for you to recover." Sasuke nodded. He knew all of that. "Will I be back on my feet by the time the Second Task is finished?" he asked. Sasuke did not want to miss the preliminaries after all.

"Yes, that you will. It will be very painful though." Sasuke nodded again while Sakura gasped. He turned towards her. "I'll be fine, Sakura. Better to get it over with. Let's go, Kakashi."

"Wait, first of all, let me show you to your temporary rooms. Follow me."

They went through a series of concrete hallways until they got to one full of doors. "This is the sleeping area. Each team has one room. There are only three teams here currently. One from Suna and the other from Kusa. Sakura, Naruto. You get some rest. I will bring Sasuke back after the sealing. Don't worry. He will be fine." He added the last part seeing Sakura's worried face and Naruto's confused expressions.

Sasuke got close to Sakura and told her to take care of Naruto and his big mouth. "HEY!" yelled Naruto. He poked her large forehead and turned to Kakashi. He always liked doing that. After she became his wife she knew the meaning, but her current confused face was as cute as her blushing one.

"Why the fuck would you poke someone's forehead, teme? You are so weird lately!"

Kakashi stayed silent and waited for him. After he said goodbye to his team he left with his sensei.

* * *

Kakashi led him to an empty storage room. It was night so everything was dark and creepy. His sensei decided to explain yet again all about the sealing process. He barely listened seeing how he already knew all of it.

It took up to one hour for Kakashi to finish the sealing matrix. Sasuke felt that his life was surrounded by these sealing matrices lately. It was funny.

"Okay, Sasuke. Come here. I need to write on you too." After removing his shirt, Sasuke went to the middle of the seal. This time, Kakashi was done in 15 minutes and they could proceed.

The future Rokudaime started the hand seals and finally, slammed his hand on Sasuke's Curse Seal with a shout of "Fūja Hōin". The last thing Sasuke heard were his own screams.


End file.
